“Breakfast is ready,” she says, wearing a sad smirk as she meets my gaze. “Let’s go eat.”
* * * *
Nolan carries the weight of the conversation while we’re eating. I think he realizes how shook me and Zoey both feel right now. I can already see she’s beating herself up again, and it doesn’t take a psychic to figure out why.
She’s likely angry at herself for not going for full custody when she divorced Bill and had the easy leverage against him.
It’s the same thing she nearly always beats herself up over when Bill acts like the asshole he is.
After breakfast, the three of us retreat to our bedroom to get dressed. Nolan moved his stuff into our room last night before we came to bed, since we didn’t have to pretend anymore.
Once the door’s locked behind us, he keeps his voice low. “Can I just say if that fucking asshole spontaneously combusted in front of us I wouldn’t so much as spit on him to help put him out?”
Zoey looks distraught as she sinks onto the bed. “I should’ve gone for full custody when I divorced him,” she tearfully whispers. “I thought he’d at least treat Lucas well. He seemed to dote on him. It wasmehe was a shit to.”
Nolan sets his coffee mug on the dresser, takes hers, and sets it next to his. Then he sits beside her and pulls her into his lap. “Honey, he’s a narcissist. Like you said. Back then, you didn’t know what he was. Remember how hard of a time I had processing that when you told me that’s what Jeri is?”
She nods.
“We have a hard time thinking they’re going to do stuff like that because we aren’tcapableof thinking the way they do,” Nolan says. “We have frickingsouls. Lucas is past the cute and cuddly phase. He’srealwork now, and that’s counter to what the narcissist wants and needs in his life.”
“I know. It’s just hard to…believeit.”
I lean in and kiss her. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. We need to get dressed and get moving. I want to be there waiting when they open. The sooner we do this, the sooner Bill Motherfucking Webb is out of our lives forever.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re all in my car and heading to the rental place. Zoey and Lucas ride in the backseat, and Nolan’s riding shotgun.
I’m feeling tense, because if Bill’s decided to stay home from work today, we’re going to have an ugly confrontation. Mary, on the other hand, strikes me as someone who tries to get along. I’ve never had any problem with her personally.
Just with her husband.
Fortunately, we’re the first ones at the rental place, beating three other renters by only a few minutes. It takes us about twenty minutes to get checked out and to be on our way, with boxes, tape, and other materials loaded in the back of the truck. I’m driving it, Nolan’s riding with me, and Zoey and Lucas are in my car following us. It’s a larger truck than we need, but again, I’m kind of hoping we can talk Nolan into starting his move this weekend.
“We taking bets on the fucker being there?” Nolan asks.
“No,” I say. “Because part of mewantshim there so I can deck him, even though I know that will escalate quickly into something really fucking bad.
“You’re not the only one. Promise to foot my bail if I go off on him?”
“How am I going to bail you out if I’m sitting in the cell next to you?”
I’m not even joking.
Except when we drive up, Bill’s truck isn’t there, fortunately, and Mary’s parked her car on the street in front of their house, leaving the driveway empty.
As I’m backing the moving truck in, the garage door starts going up. Nolan had got out to guide me back, and I see in the side mirror that he turns to look at her and she offers a tentative wave and a really tight, nervous smile.
I’m hoping those are good signs for us.
I’m climbing out of the truck when Caine pulls up in his car and parks behind Zoey and Lucas. The boys immediately hug, while Nolan and I exchange a knowing glance.
Ireallywant them to have a better future than Nolan and I had at their age. We were both terrified of being outed, but Nolan’s was a legit fear of physical danger from his family. Mine was just in general, and faded the older I grew.
I walk up the driveway to help Nolan open the back and get the ramp pulled out. Mary approaches us.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” she quietly says. “I wasn’t here, but based on what Bill told me, I can only guess it was ugly.”
“Ugly isn’t the word for it,” I angrily say, turning on her. “He damn near hit Zoey’s car, he tore up our front yard, and he fucking threw out our son and his things like he was nothing more than garbage. I hope you realize what a piece of shit you’re married to.”
